I am looking buy cooling vests for an upcoming ride. Any recommendations?
I bought 2 of these as well.. one for wife and one for me... wasn't very impressed after a 3200 mile trip to Blue Ridge earlier with the Coloroado Coolvests and Mesh jackets.. Definitely did help... Then I decided to try the LDComfort long sleeve tee shirt and textile jacket.. little hard to make myself do that, but well worth it. No comparison between LDC and the coolvest. Of my "addons", the LDComfort has impressed me the most, well except for the Michelin Alpin :lol:... impressed me more than the progressive monotubes (which I also do like) or the Windbender. If you can keep moving, you actually do feel cool, not just comfortable. Just rewet through the arm airvents... use Olympia AST jacket.Just to throw another option into the mix - Colorado Coolwear. Made in America by Americans. We've had them for four or five years, now, and they work great for us:
http://www.coloradocoolwear.com/
TexWalter, I use a Tourmaster airflow Jacket and have always had about 3 hrs before a change of packs was required , at a gas stop or lunch. I have never changed the packs in less than 3 hrs.Ed, been there and done that. About all I could get out of the Polarvest was about 45min to an hour then I'd have to find a spot to stop, unplug, remove my jacket, remove the Polarvest, remove the depleted phase change packs, open cooler retrieve charged phase change packs, put charged phase change packs in vest, put depleted phase change packs in cooler to let them recharge, put vest on, put jacket on, put helmet back on, get back on bike and proceed down the road for another 45min to an hour. Granted I was using a Motorport kevlar mesh jacket and would probably gotten more time out of the packs if I used a textile jacket but I just got tired of the drill.
I plan to install a reciever hitch and put both ice chests on the small platform slipped into the reciever hitch. For me, custom ice blocks in the ice cooler are good for about 4 hours then it's bagged ice from there on until I get back home. My lower back is about 67 degrees when I get home from a 6 hour ride in 90-95 degree weather.Veskimo Two-up would be a challenge, though.
I don't understand how this would be possible.I bought a Veskimo system at the beginning of summer 2012. I used on several trips last summer in temperatures up to 110 degrees. Works very well. If its really hot, gas station crushed ice will last two hours or so. Duck into a gas station, fill up with gas and ice and I'm good to go. One issue though. The adjustment straps on the side of the vest have plastic sliders. One of these rubbed me raw over my rib cage on a two week trip last year. I had to wrap the offending strap in moleskin just to wear the vest after a couple of days. This summer I bought a shirt from Coolshirt Systems and adapted it to the Veskimo pump system. The shirt is much more comfortable to wear and stays against my skin better.
LD Comfort and a bottle of water.
Double ditto on the Long Distance Comfort gear!Ditto!
you mention wearing of the Veskimo product in direct skin contact....Veskimo, I've had one for about three years now. I tried all the other vests (evaporative, phase change) and LDC but none of them works quite as well as the Veskimo. Oh, I still wear LDC but the Veskimo is under it keeping me cool.
Let's see Death Valley in the Summer the temps are usually above 110F, often above 115F with RHs in single digits to low teens. With a 20 degree cooling for 20 mins that means with a vest and mesh jacket you can ride 24 miles in an effective 95F bubble and as far as you can stand it at 105F. Wow, hold me back, what a combination. Twenty minutes of riding where you are hot followed by riding for up to 3 hours in temps that will cause heat injury. I guess I can get rid of my textile jacket and LDComfort and start riding in "a big no-no to some" mesh jacket and a "el-cheepo" wet it down vest since Wing World is such an authority on hot WX riding."Wing World" just had a test report about a very affordable evaporative cooling vest.
Death Valley testing revealed the el-cheepo wet-it-down vest, that some here claim doesn't work, starts off keeping the rider about 20 degrees cooler than the ambient air temperature. Testing showed that under a mesh jacket (a big no-no to some), the vest dried a bit after 20 minutes and then kept the rider about 10 degrees cooler for another 3 hours. Not bad for $50 bucks. And you don't have to buy a second, vented textile jacket. Testing was done on a Valk and a Wing.
I invite others who love the more expensive options to repeat the test using their favorite products and report back here with objective evidence. Please notice I am not saying other options won't work or aren't better. I just think the cool vest and a mesh jacket work pretty well (10-20 degrees cooler) for not much money (about $50).
Make sure you gas up in Caliente or Alamo or Ash Springs before you head out to the Inn. No Gas between Alamo/Ash Springs and Tonopah. Wife's family has mining claims in that area.Ken, I'm riding across S. NV on Wed the 14th. I'm stopping for lunch (noon lcl time) at the Little Ale Inn. Come on up and I'll buy you a burger before I press on to Beatty and then across Death Valley to CA.
There is a slight chance, I just finished a "back of the clock" Initial Sim this morning. My schedule has me doing Cockpit Procedures #1 on Sunday and then I'm open until I start another Initial Sim on the following Saturday. Only problem I'll bet someone will notice the open schedule, if no does I'll ride up.Ken, I'm riding across S. NV on Wed the 14th. I'm stopping for lunch (noon lcl time) at the Little Ale Inn. Come on up and I'll buy you a burger before I press on to Beatty and then across Death Valley to CA.
Thanks Pooch, I'll be stopping at the Shell in Ash Springs and again at the Shell in Tonopah on my way to Beatty. It's sure desolate out there. Come on over to the Little Ale Inn and have lunch w/ us Pooch.Make sure you gas up in Caliente or Alamo or Ash Springs before you head out to the Inn. No Gas between Alamo/Ash Springs and Tonopah. Wife's family has mining claims in that area.
Sounds good Ken. If you make it lunch is on me.There is a slight chance, I just finished a "back of the clock" Initial Sim this morning. My schedule has me doing Cockpit Procedures #1 on Sunday and then I'm open until I start another Initial Sim on the following Saturday. Only problem I'll bet someone will notice the open schedule, if no does I'll ride up.
This could be true, but where are your facts? The tester in "Wing World" did not rely on subjective feelings. He recorded his actual test results using two digital thermometers. Are you willing to do the same? Your conviction would be more convincing with some measurable facts on your side. Not saying you can't get a 40-degree drop in temperature (although, it sounds unlikely), I'd just like to see the actual numbers.Here are the facts: Under the conditions of Death Valley today (113F/RH 10%), riding with my textile jacket over LDComfort I would ride in a low 70sF bubble of air from tank to tank.